Sliding closure and frame having substantially clear lower sill



May 28,-1968 H. B. ABRAMSON SLIDING CLOSURE AND FRAME HAVINGSUBSTANTIALLY CLEAR LOWER SILL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1966 FIG.2

aawud alu ATTORNEYS FIG. 3

y 8 H. a. ABRAMSON 3,384,998

SLIDING CLOSURE AND FRAME HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY CLEAR LOWER SILL 2Sheets-Sheet :3

Filed March 1, 1966 FIG.5

INVENTQR ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,384,998 Patented Mayas, 1968 ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLOSURE In connection with bathtub cubicles,patio entrances and the like, provision is made for sliding doors and anassociated frame, which are characterized by rails at the top of theframe from which the tops of the doors are suspended for sliding motion,a substantially smooth, readily cleaned, sill with which the bottoms ofthe doors are contiguous, and restricted lower lugs cooperating withlower elongated channels for preventing swinging by the bottoms of thedoors.

Background and summary of the invention The present invention relates tosliding doors of the type used for bathtub and shower cubicleenclosures, patio and porch entrances, etc., all of which are subject tosplattering water from inside or outside. Prior doors of the foregoingtype have been associated with lower sills having elongated channelswithin which the lower edges of the doors slide and by which the loweredges of the doors are retained. Such lower sills have been difiicult tokeep clean because of the tendency of soil to accumulate within thechannels and the absence of easy access to corners of the channels forcleansing implements.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a slidingclosure arrangement having sliding doors and an associated sill whichcooperate in excluding or retaining splattering water in connection withan architectural construction but nevertheless provide easy access forthoroughly cleaning the sill. This arrangement is such that the upperedges of the doors are hung from upper rails along which they slide andthe lower edges of the doors are in contiguity with a particularlydesigned, generally smooth sill that is immediately accessible from acleansing standpoint. Preferably, the sill slopes downwardly from rearto front so that water thereupon is capable of undisturbed outward flowand a shoulder at the rear of the sill serves as a shield againstsplattered water underneath the doors. In one form, the lower edges ofthe doors are prevented from moving outwardly by small lugs whichproject upwardly from the sill. In another form, the lower edges of thedoors are prevented from moving outwardly by interengaging lugs andguides only one of which is fixed with respect to the sill and theremainder of which are on the doors. In order to ensure a tight sealbetween a door and the sill, an elastomeric blade is afiixed along thelower edge of the door and rides in contiguity with the sill.

Other objects of the present invention will in' part be obvious and willin part appear hereinafter.

Brief description of drawings The invention accordingly comprises thecomponents and relationships which are illustrated in the disclosurehereof. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of thepresent invention, reference should be had to the following detaileddescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closure arrangement embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the closure arrangement of FIG. 1, withparts removed;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the closure arrangement of FIG. 1,taken substantially along the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view, partly broken away, of the closure ofFIG. 1, taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view, partly broken away, analogous to thatof FIG. 3, of a modification of the clossure arrangement of FIG. 1.

Detailed description Generally, each of the embodiments of the presentinvention illustrated herein, includes: a metal frame rim havinglongitudinally disposed rails at the top and vertically disposedretainers at opposite sides; a pair of metal frame doors having upperedges that are slidably hung from the rails; a longitudinally disposedlower sill having a generally smooth, easily cleansed upper face withwhich the lower edges of the doors are contiguous; and small lugs ofrestricted longitudinal dimension for retaining the lower edges of thedoors from transverse movement. The components of the frame rim and thecomponents of the frame doors and the sill generally are in the form ofsevered sections of extruded metal stock. The metal which isnon-tarnishing, preferably is composed of aluminum, stainless steel,brass or titanium. Less preferably, the components of the frame rim orthe frame doors are composed of such structural plastic materials aslinear polyamides such as that sold under the trade designation Nylon byDu Pont. Retained within each of the door frames by positioning lugs isa panel composed of transparent or transluscent glass or plastic sheet.In alternative embodiments, not shown, the doors are composed entirelyof the same material, for example, one of the aforementioned metals. Byway of example, the illustrated embodiments are concerned with bathtubenclosures.

The bathtub enclosure of FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown in FIG. 1 as comprising abathtube cubicle 10, the front of which is open at 12 to provide forfree access by a user who may wish to take a bath or a shower, a showerspray being shown at 14. The frame rim has an elongated horizontal upperpoition 16 and a pair of elongated vertical side portions 18, 20.Resting on the outer edge of the bathtub is a sill 22, the centralportion of which is shown broken away in order to make visible aU-shaped retainer 24. The doors, which are shown at 26 and 28 are shownas including metal frame portions 36 and 32 extending throughout theirperipheries and panels of translucent glass retained thereby.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, upper horizontal portion 16 of theframe rim is an extrusion having, in cross-section, top and sidesegments 34, 36, 38. Inwardly directed from side segments 36, 38 arerails 40, 42, which provide spaced channels 44, 46. Upper horizontalportions 30, 32 of frame doors 25., 28 are shown as having similar crosssections, which are H-shaped. These cross sections have front and rearupright segments 48, and shaped cross segments 52. Extending upwardlyfrom rear uprights 59 are two pairs of arms, only the arms closest tothe reader being visible at 54, 56. The arms remote from the reader liebehind the visible arms and therefore cannot be seen in FIG. 3. Twopairs of rollers 58, 59 are journaled on these pairs of arms in such away as to hang the doors for sliding motion along its associated channel44.

The lower horizontal portions 62, 64 of doors 26, 28 are shown asH-shaped extrusions having upwardly extending front and rear segments66, 68, downwardly extending front and rear segments '79 and 72. andcross segments at 74. Downwardly extending front pieces 78 arebifurcated to provide forward and rearward grips 76, 78 for retaining anelastomeric blade 89 as a shield against splattering water. The loweredges of blades 84) abut against the sill now to be described.

Sill 22, in accordance with the present invention, is an extrusion, themain body of which sweeps rearwardly from its forward edge at 80,through a gradually upwardly sloping portion 84 and then through asharpiy upwardly rising shoulder 85. Legs are provided at 38, 9h, 92, 94and 96 for seating upon the bathtub edge. In addition, shoulder 86 isprovided with a forwardly directed projection 95 by which relativelyreavy concentrations of water are prevented from being forced over andbeyond shoulder 8-5. As shown, the lower edges of doors 26, 28 areprevented from swinging forwardly by the upstanding lugs 100, 192 of aU-shaped retainer, which was designated above at 24, each of which lugsis received between the downwardly depending segments of the lowerhorizontal portion of its associated door.

The opposite sides of each door frame are similar in construction sothat only one need be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, each ofthe vertically extending extrusions constituting a portion of frame rim12, shown in FIG. 4 at N4, is H-shaped, having inwardly directedsegments 196, 198, outwardly directed segments 110, 112 and a crosssegment 114. Overlapping outwardly directed segments 110, H2 is aU-shaped channel memher 116, the inwardly directed segments which gripoutwardly directed segments 11% and the bight 118 of which serves toabut agr ..t vertically extending portion 18 as a stop. inwardlyextending from vertically extending portion 18 is a holder 12% for apair of magnets one of which is shown at 122 and the other of which isomitted to show details of the holder. An analogous magnet 124 iscarried on U-shapcd ele nent 116 in such a way as to contact magnet 123when the door is in its extreme position, thereby maintaining the doorin shut or open condition.

A modification of the closure of FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown in FIG. 5 as anadaptation for use between a patio and an adjoining room. Generally thesill shown at 126 is provided with a forwardly sloping section 123 and arearwardly upward section 139 as its its counterpart in FIG. 3. However,forwardly directed from shoulder 130 is a reversely bent downwardlydirected rail 132. This rail serves to retain the rearward extremity ofa hook 134, the main body of which is carried by the rearward downwardlydepending segment 136 of the H-shaped channel member at the bottom ofthe door. An analogous hook projects forwardly from the front segment ofthe H-shaped channel member for cooperation with a rearwardly extendinghook from the next adjacent door.

In operation of both of the illustrated embodiments, the sliding doorsare able to be swung into open position readily by virtue of theirroller mountings and to be closed securely by virtue of the operation ofthe magnets 122, 124 on the door and the upwardly extending portions ofthe frame. The lower parts of the doors are retained securely in such away as to prevent their being inadvertently swung outwardly and a waterseal is established by elastomeric blades extending downwardly from thebottom of the doors.

The present invention thus provides a novel closure for effectivelyretaining or excluding water while presenting a lower sill that may bereadily cleaned. It will be understood that in some applications of thepresent invention, only a single sliding door is involved. Since certainchanges may be made in the foregoing disclosure without departing fromthe invention herein, it is intended that all matter contained in theforegoing description or illustrated in the accompanying drawing beinterpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure comprising: a frame bordering a portal and two doorsmovable between closed positions, at which said portal is closed, andopened positions, at which said portal is opened; said frame includingan upper horizontal portion, a pair of vertical side portions and alower sill; said upper horizontal portion having in extruded crosssection a medial bight, a pair of downwardly directed segments dependingfrom said bight, a pair of inwardly directed segments projecting fromsaid downwardly directed segments, a pair of upwardly presented channelsat the adjacent extremities of said inwardly directed segments; each ofsaid two doors having an upper horizontal portion, a lower horizontalportion and a pair of side ortions; said upper horizontal portion ofeach of said two doors having in extruded cross section a pair ofupwardly directed segments, a pair of downwardly directed segments and across segment; a pair of upwardly extending arms from the rearward oneof said pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of rollers journalcdon said pair of upwardly extending arms, said pair of rollers riding inone of said pair of upwardly presented channels in order to slidablyhang said each of said doors; said lower horizontal portion of said eachof said doors, in extruded cross section, having a pair of upwardlyextending segments, a pair of downwardly extending segments and a crosssegment, the forward one of said pair of downwardly extending segmentshaving a bifurcated configuration, an elastomeric blade held by saidbifurcated configuration; said sill, in extruded cross section, having agenerally smooth upper surface sweeping upwardly from front to rear, anda forwardly projecting, overhanging extension, the lower edge of saidelastomeric blade being contiguous with said upper surface; and guidemeans which substantially does not interrupt said upper surface of saidsill for retaining the bottom of said door against swinging outwardly,said guide means including a pair of upstanding lug means of restrictedelongation affixed to said sill approximately midway between theextremities of said sill, one each of said lug means projecting betweensaid downwardly depending segments of said lower portion of one each ofsaid doors.

2. A closure comprising: a frame bordering a portal and two doorsmovable bctween closed positions, at which said portal is closed, andopened positions, at which said portal is opened; said frame includingan upper horizontal portion, a pair of vertical side portions and alower sill; said upper horizontal portion having in extruded crosssection a medial bight, a pair of down.- wardly directed segmentsdepending from said bight, a pair of inwardly directed segmentsprojecting from said downwardly directed segments, a pair of upwardlypresented channels at the adjacent extremities of said inwardly directedsegments; each of said two doors having an upper horizontal portion, alower horizontal portion and a pair of side portions; said upperhorizontal portion of each of said two doors having in extruded crosssection a pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of downwardlydirected segments and a cross segment; a pair of upwardly extending armsfrom the rearward one of said pair of upwardly directed segments, a pairof rollers journaled on said pair of upwardly extending arms, said pairof rollers riding in one of said pair of upwardly presented channels inorder to slidably hang said each of said doors; said lower horizontalportion of said each of said doors, in extruded cross section, having apair of upwardly extending segments, a pair of downwardly extendingsegments and a cross segment, the forward one of said pair of downwardlyextending segments having a bifurcated configuration, an elastomericblade held by said bifurcated configuration; said sill, in extrudedcross section, having a generally smooth upper surface sweeping upwardlyfrom front to rear, and a forwardly projecting, overhanging extension,the lower edge of said elastomeric blade being contiguous with saidupper surface; and guide means which substantially does not interruptsaid upper surface of said sill for retaining the bottom of said dooragainst swinging outwardly, said overhanging extension constituting aguide, a lug extending from the lower portion of one of said doors inengagement with said guide, said lower portion of said one of said doorsproviding a guide, and a lug extending from the lower portion of theother of said doors in engagement with said guide of said one of saiddoors, in order to retain the lower edges of said doors against swingingoutwardly.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,970,642 2/1961 Parsons 49-4115 3,256,639 6/1966 Gain 49-449 3,310,914 3/1967 De Klavon 4941l FOREIGNPATENTS 747,630 4/ 1933 France.

10 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

